Jose Moscardo

Jose Moscardo e Ituarte (26 October 1878-12 April 1956) was a Captain-General of the Spanish Army who sided with the Spanish Nationalists under Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War. He was well-known for his brave defense of the Alcazar of Toledo in 1936, during which he let his son die at the hands of his enemies so that he could defend the city.

Biography
Jose Moscardo e Ituarte was born on 26 October 1878 in Madrid, Spain. He joined the Spanish Army in 1896 and was stationed in the Philippines, where he fought against the Philippine Revolution of 1898 and the United States' intervention in the islands. Moscardo was known to be a religious Roman Catholic who was happy with a few people that he knew well, but he was shy, exact, and well-mannered. Moscardo fought in the Rif War of 1923, but lived in semi-retirement in his middle years until the Spanish Civil War began in 1935.

Moscardo backed Francisco Franco's nationalists, and as the Governor of Toledo Province, he joined the nationalists with the people of the province. Moscardo and the Spanish nationalists were besieged in the Alcazar fortress by 8,000 Republican troops under Candido Cabello, with only 1,028 troops (only 150 were actually trained soldiers). On 23 July, his 16-year-old son Luis Moscardo was captured by the Republicans, and the political officer of the republican force threatened to shoot Luis if the Alcazar was not surrendered. Jose asked that the phone be given to his son, and Jose told him to die like a patriot yelling "Long live Christ the King" and "Long live Spain". Luis told him "That, I can do", and he was shot by the republicans. Moscardo proceeded to successfully defend the fortress against the Republicans, and was promoted to Army General in honor of his heroic defense of the Alcazar. Franco let him wear a special black cloak over his army uniform in mourning for his son, and Moscardo wore it for the rest of his life so that every soldier knew who he was. Moscardo led the Aragon Army Corps and took part in no further heroic episodes, defending the Val d'Aran to Lerida from communist rebels in late 1944. Moscardo coached the Spanish soccer team in the 1948 Summer Olympics in London in the United Kingdom, and died on 12 April 1956 at the age of 77.